Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) penned a memorandum of understanding with the French Naval Group. Under the MoU, the two sides will establish a joint venture with the purpose of manufacturing and advancing naval systems.

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi (IDEX) held on Feb 17-21.

"The collaboration offers us an excellent opportunity to leverage Naval Group’s strong track record of helping its partners develop sovereign defense capabilities to create an integrated military industries ecosystem in the kingdom.”

Schwer added that "through design, construction and maintenance activities, the joint venture will contribute significantly to further enhancing the capabilities and readiness of Royal Saudi Naval Forces."

Also, a cooperation memorandum was signed between Advanced Electronics Company and Thales Group by which the former would manufacture and repair night and thermal cameras of Thales.

Saudi Arabia participated in IDEX with an enormous pavilion that saw a number of military and national companies and institutions specialized in military industries. The pavilion encompasses more than 13 local firms and institutions such as Saudi Arabian Military Industries, Military Industries Corporation, Advanced Electronics Company, Altadrea Manufacturing Co, Saudi Leather Industries Company, and Saudi Defence Electronics Company (SADEC).

The Saudi pavilion aims to introduce progress to the military industries in the kingdom and to propose plans for the public and private sectors in order to reach the targets of Saudi Vision 2030 – one of which is to nationalize 50 percent of the military spending.

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